A man came to the dervish and said:
- I would like to discuss my problem with you.
“But I,” said the dervish, “would not like to do this.”
The man was annoyed:
- How do you know, because you didn’t listen to me?
Dervish smiled:
- Why then did you come to me if you think that I don’t know your problem and cannot perceive it without your story?
Now the man was confused and worried at the same time.
“Then tell me what my problem is, and that will convince me completely.”
- Oh, unfortunate one! If I show you that I know your problem, I will stray from the Service and become a mere magician.
“Then,” said the man, “just give me the solution to my problem.”
- I just did it.
- But I don’t understand! I haven't heard anything that sounds like a solution to my problem!
“Then go your own way and look for the answer elsewhere.”
The man left and wandered for several months, seeking clarification from everyone. It soon dawned on him that his problem was egocentrism, and the dervish pointed it out to him. This was his real problem, not the one he kept thinking about. In a city distant from the one in which their first dialogue took place, they met again.
“I have realized the wisdom of your words and want to repay your service.”
“You have already repaid yourself by telling everyone about our conversation, you helped the teaching.” Without meaning to, you served as a clear illustration of stupidity and confusion. You were like a man who had an arrow stuck in his head, which everyone but him could see, thinking that the headache was a consequence of the difficulty of the problems he was thinking about. This was your ministry. As I said before, you, thinking that you were serving yourself, served the truth, and the truth set you free.
However, you served not only the truth, but also self-obsession, and not yourself, as you thought. In fact, anyone can force you to serve anything - all they have to do is convince you that you are serving yourself.
The man said:
- Listen, if I can’t judge by my appearance and if I can’t judge by my inner feeling, what should I do when I don’t have an understanding person like you next to me?
“It’s not that you can’t at all,” answered the Sufi, “I was just saying that thinking that something that looks the same and is the same is not the basis for learning.” Appearances may or may not be deceiving. The teacher will help you develop an understanding that both interprets the superficial and perceives the internal. If you seek knowledge through external forms, you are not seeking understanding. If you want cherries, why are you looking for diamonds?
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru